The mineral wealth of ancient Arabia and its use I: Copper mining and smelting at Feinan and Timna – comparison and evaluation of techniques, production, and strategies

Near Eastern fieldwork in mining archaeology and archaeometallurgy began at Timna (Israel) in the 1960s and 1970s and continued in Feinan (Jordan) in the 1980s and 1990s. For the first time, Bronze Age copper mines were excavated and cleared and importance was given to the slag recovered. At both sites copper was produced for over 5000 years, from the Chalcolithic to the Mamluk periods. Although the broad outlines of technical development can be traced, much remains to be learned in future studies.     

A case of Os odontoideum in the palaeopathological record

Os odontoideum is an uncommon abnormality of the second cervical vertebra, the aetiology of which is contentious. Whether congenital or acquired, the condition often results in atlantoaxial instability and subsequent compression of cervical cord or vertebrobasilar vessels. The bioarchaeological study of a medieval sample from the Christian necropolis of Cacela Velha (Algarve, southern Portugal) provided the opportunity to describe one of the first cases of this rare anomaly ever reported in the palaeopathological record. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two medieval ‘trepanations’ – therapy or swindle?

During the 1991–1992 excavation of the ruins of the medieval cathedral in Hamar, Norway, the broken skull of an elderly man was found, showing evidence of an incomplete trepanation. The ‘surgeon’ had obviously tried to penetrate the skull surface around bregma in an irregular circle of 23 × 21 mm. Upon investigation, the skull revealed a reactive‐pathological area of the internal surface of the occipital bone, which probably represents a respite after a meningeal disorder (a tumour or an infectious process), causing us to suggest that the trepanation was meant to cure the patient's increasing headache. However, as a second skull with similar marks was found in the same churchyard, another explanation seems possible. Because the brain tumour in the first case may have altered the patient's mental state, we may surmise that these incomplete operations were an attempt to remove from these patients' heads the ‘Stone of Madness’, which was then commonly considered to be the reason for psychiatric diagnoses as well as persistent headache, and often depicted in European art, most notably in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. The second skull, revealing an even more incomplete attempt, did not show any skeletal pathology at all. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diagnostic criteria for developmental dislocation of the hip in human skeletal remains

Dislocation is the most severe form of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). It significantly impairs hip function in the young, and may lead to debilitating early‐onset osteoarthritis in adults. To our knowledge no thorough study of a large skeletal population has ever been undertaken to determine the wide range of diagnostic criteria for this condition in pathological specimens. To identify these criteria we have analysed the cases of developmental dislocation from a large series of 6000 individuals (6580 hips) from the medieval cemetery at Spitalfields in London, UK. We describe the changes at the true acetabulum, and have created a four‐stage classification of the false acetabulum. The skeletal response to the altered biomechanics and limb shortening that occurs in developmental dislocation is described in the pelvis, lower limb and spine. This includes asymmetric growth in childhood, and asymmetric degenerative change in adulthood. We conclude with a discussion of the clinical literature on developmental dislocation of the hip that will aid palaeopathologists to estimate the symptoms that an excavated individual may have experienced during their lifetime. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Limb bones asymmetry and stress in medieval and recent populations of Central Europe

Monitoring the degree of asymmetry in different parts of the human body can contribute to population studies, as it may be connected indirectly with the social structure, living conditions, and also with biomechanical stress affecting the person. Analysis of asymmetry may also assess preferential use of the right or left of the body during specific activities. This study is based on the measurements of bones of the upper and lower limbs of skeletons derived from the remarkable medieval cemeteries of Mikulčice‐Kostelisko (78 male, 132 female) and Prušánky (66 male, 69 female) (9th–12th centuries AD), and a series of skeletons representing a recent population from Bohemia (143 male, 157 female). The objective was to assess directional asymmetry (DA), fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and antisymmetry (AS) of the dimensions of the evaluated bones, and to use these data to compare the characteristics of the medieval and recent populations. DA was recorded in most dimensions. In the upper limb, the humerus exhibited the greatest expression of asymmetry, and, with the exception of the clavicle, DA was always more pronounced on the right side. Conversely, DA was less prevalent in the lower limb bones. It was more pronounced on the transverse, sagittal and circumferential dimensions of the diaphyses and epiphyses than on the length, and in most cases it was on the left side. The FA values were very low, and almost negligible in relation to the size. Nevertheless, FA was markedly more frequent on the lower than on the upper limb. In contrast to the medieval population, the recent population had higher FA and DA values. Thus, we propose that people from this medieval population were subjected to lower developmental stress than the recent sample. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Molecular and isotopic traces of cooking and consumption of fish at an Early Medieval manor site in eastern middle Sweden

This paper is a presentation of a comparison between prehistoric food culture signals obtained through analyses of lipid food residues in pottery, i.e. pottery-use, from settlement remains on one hand and bone chemical analyses of human skeletal remains from an adjacent and contemporary cemetery on the other. The materials derive from the Early Medieval site Tuna in Alsike par., Uppland, Sweden. The results show a discrepancy between the two food signals and it is argued that pottery-use do not by necessity reflect everyday diet. But it is also argued that the integration of several food signals together with contextual archaeological data is a fruitful way to begin to understand the complexity of prehistoric cultures of food.     

The consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean diet

During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separated by approximately 850 years in time. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic values observed in human dentin and bone collagen from the sites of early medieval Castro dei Volsci and late medieval Rome are consistent with diets that differed substantially. As the North Atlantic opened to fishing and food preservations methods improved, Mediterranean peoples increased their fish consumption dramatically, and in doing so, met the religious directives of the Catholic Church. By analyzing both teeth and bone collagen within individuals, long-term feeding behaviors are documented, and the utility of last erupted teeth collagen as sources of adult dietary information is established. This study offers the first physical evidence of this new economic reality linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean economies at the end of the Middle Ages.     

明至清前期海外关系的变化与史学

明至清前期,随着海外关系的变化,史学也表现出不同的特点。明前期,皇朝海外关系是建立在“宣威柔远”政治目的基础之上的。这种关系因郑和一下西洋”的活动达到高潮,史学则因此出现了几部反映这种海外关系特点的著作。晚明,倭患问题与私人违禁进行海外商贸等问题交织在一起,经权衡利弊,皇朝开始改变初期的海禁政策,私人海外贸易迅速发展;与此同时．西方殖民者东来,与中国开始发生直接的接触;随着传教士“精神狩猎”的开始,中西文化交流逐渐展开。这些海外关系的特点,都在史学中得到体现。清前期是海外关系大倒退的时期,中西文化交流逐渐偃息,史学的发展也受到影响。     

The application of numerical techniques to insect assemblages from the site of Stóraborg,Iceland

The problems of interpretation of many overlapping species lists of fossil assemblages are discussed using the example of insect faunas from a late medieval farm site in southern Iceland. Numerical techniques were employed, principally those available within the CLUSTAN package, and it was concluded that a considerable refinement in interpretation was achieved. Such quantitative procedures are suitable for groups other than fossil insects but their employment cannot be regarded as a substitute for, rather than an adjunct to, a sound ecological approach.     

Spiriferoidea (Brachiopoda) from the Early Permian Del Salto Formation of Argentina

The fossil lycopod Pleuromeia longicaulis (Burges) comb. nov. and its supposed cone Cyclostrobus sydneyensis (Walkom) Helby &; Martin 1965 are common in the Scythian to Anisian Garie and Newport Formations north of Sydney, N.S.W. P. longicaulis probably lived in extensive monodominant stands in the interdistributary bays of the ‘Gosford delta’ system, bordering a large coastal lagoon or lake. C. sydneyensis was borne as a single erect terminal cone. It was shed intact and may have floated some distance before breaking up and releasing its heterospores.

Austrostrobus ornatum Morbelli and Petriella 1973 from southern Patagonia is now included as a further species of Cyclostrobus.

The Pleuromeiaceae appear to have been facultative coastal halophytes. They probably originated in Eurasia and migrated along early Triassic shorelines, reaching eastern Australia by the mid-Scythian. The coastal habitat of the Pleuromeiaceae and other Triassic lycopods explains the biostratigraphic usefulness of the spores Aratrisporites spp., Nathorstisporites hopliticus Jung 1958, and Banksisporites pinguis (Harris) Dettmann 1961 compared with coexisting fully terrestrial fossil floras. These opportunistic lycopods appear to have expanded in times of recovery from global life crises.